Marta Gardolińska     conductor
Alena Baeva               violin

Copland                      Appalachian Spring
Barber                         Violin Concerto
Dvořák                        Symphony No. 9 ‘From the New World’

Three distinctive visions of America make up this concert from the Hallé and Polish conductor Marta Gardolińska, beginning with Aaron Copland’s Pulitzer Prize-winning suite from his ballet Appalachian Spring. Originally commissioned in wartime by the Martha Graham Dance Company, this ‘legend of American living’ with its feeling of open space rapidly became synonymous with the national spirit and its pioneering optimism. Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto dates from a similar time, and was premiered in 1941. Mixing lush lyricism with Modernist impulse, not least in its full-throttle finale it’s now one of the most admired twentieth-century concertos. The mesmerising Russian-Luxembourgish virtuoso, Alena Baeva, takes up the challenge.

Our final piece comes from one of America’s most famous musical immigrants. Dvořák made the journey to become the Director at the National Conservatory of Music in New York in 1892 and although often desperately homesick he found inspiration in the music of both Native American and African-American communities. The latter’s spirituals echo through the famous slow movement of the ‘New World’ Symphony and there’s a strong sense of America’s expansive panorama throughout, whilst often alluding to the vibrant melodies and infectious dance rhythms of his Czech homeland.

 Free pre-concert talk, 6.20pm in the auditorium: Marta Gardolińska in conversation.